Sapphire is the official birthstone for the month of September as adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. It is also one of the birth stones for the Zodiac signs of Pisces, Taurus, Virgo and Sagittarius. It is given as a gem for the 5th, 23rd and 45th wedding anniversaries. Star sapphire is given on the 65th wedding anniversary.

Sapphire is the non-red variety of corundum (the red variety of corundum is ruby). The Sanskrit "sauriratna", Chaldean "sampir", Latin "Saphirus" and Greek "Sappheiros" are just some of its ancient names. (The early biblical "Sapir" was actually Lapis Lazuli). Sapphire was a name given to most blue gems until the 1800's when it was found that Sapphire and Ruby were corundrums. Blue is by far the most popular color for sapphires, but they can be almost any color, including yellow, green, white, colorless, pink, orange, brown, and purple. A rare variety is blue in natural light and violet in artificial light. Padparadscha is the name for a rare orange-pink variety of sapphire which has a higher value than blue ones. Sapphire was first created synthetically in 1902, and is hard to distinguish from natural sapphires except by gemologists. Lab-grown sapphires range in price and smaller stones are frequently used in less expensive jewelry. Sapphire sold as "Kashmir" now is mostly mined in Burma.

Star Sapphires are thought most magical, as the rutile hairs in the stone create the effect of light rays moving within. These "spirits" (of Faith, Hope and Destiny) are thought to observe and reward the gem's owner.